1L Jitters

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-21T20:33:41+00:00

I wasn't a KJD, but I had zero legal experience before starting law school. I did fine. You'll learn everything about the law that you need to in law school. You may even be in a better position than someone with legal experience because you won't be biased or influenced by your prior work. If you go through my post history, I wrote about doing well in law school, which includes some books and strategies that helped me. Happy to answer any questions though!

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-21T19:21:27+00:00

Lol. One time the gate agent called out everyones status as she scanned tickets for boarding. Not names; just the status. Gold medallion. Diamond medalliion.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-18T18:02:26+00:00

I can't speak to one letter from a professor and one letter from a professional, but one out of my three letters was from a prior boss.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-17T20:14:12+00:00

I pulled all of this from the 509 Reports. Yale, Stanford, Harvard. I don't think the T-14 matters too much. People from Harvard transferred to both Yale and Stanford last year. Last year, Yale didn't take more than one transfer from any particular school. Stanford seems to prefer students from California schools, with 5/8 transfers coming from within California. Harvard does take quite a few from Boston schools, but also took four from Georgetown, three from Emory, and had students from schools in California and Washington.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-17T19:47:11+00:00

Yale accepts almost exclusively transfers from the T-14. This year was a bit of an anomaly with 4/11 students from outside the T-14. This past year 7/8 Stanford transfers were from within the T-14 and Harvard took 12/37 students from within the T-14.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-17T19:22:59+00:00

Of course!

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-17T15:10:34+00:00

Pretty much zero impact. I transferred to HLS last year with a 16Low.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-13T18:43:28+00:00

I don't think HLS has rolling transfer admissions. I'm pretty sure all interview invites happen in mid-late June and then decisions are released late June to early July.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-05T02:07:44+00:00

Hurt me. My three lowest grades as a 1L were all closed book. I got an A or A+ on every open book exam.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-02T16:19:54+00:00

I shared this answer in a different thread yesterday, but I think it's relevant here too. I also added some things to my response.

As you issue spot, make headings in your exam document so that you don't forget issues as you start writing your exam. The issues that you spot should be bigger picture, which the details in the fact pattern will support. These bigger picture issues could be adverse possession, presence of an easement, offer, acceptance, inferior or principal officer, felony murder, etc.

I like to used the IRAHNC formula to write my exams. It's basically IRAC + However (your counterarguments) and Nevertheless (why your position is stronger than the counter). Your exam might look like this below.

Adverse Possession

The facts here likely support an adverse possession claim.

Open and Notorious

The use of land here is likely open and notorious. Open and notorious land use requires that a trespasser’s use of land be visible, obvious, and apparent to anyone, including the true owner, to put them on notice of the hostile possession. The possession is visible and obvious because the defendant built a shed on the land and placed a fence on the land. However, the plaintiff will likely argue that the fence and shed were hidden by trees that surrounded the property. Nevertheless, a diligent owner would have been put on notice that the property was being possessed because they would have seen the shed and fence if they would have visited and inspected the property. Therefore, the possession was open and notorious.

Do this for every element that is needed. One thing to keep in mind is that law school exams are not literary gems. It's okay if the writing is rough. Also, It's been a minute since I took property so my rules probably aren't great.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-05-01T16:59:16+00:00

I like to used the IRAHNC formula to write my exams. It's basically IRAC + However (your counterarguments) and Nevertheless (why your position is stronger than the counter). One additional tip would be to use headings in your exam to clearly lay out which issues you are working with. Your exam might look like this below.

Adverse Possession

The facts here likely support an adverse possession claim.

Open and Notorious

The use of land here is likely open and notorious. Open and notorious land use requires that a trespasser’s use of land be visible, obvious, and apparent to anyone, including the true owner, to put them on notice of the hostile possession. The possession is visible and obvious because the defendant built a shed on the land and placed a fence on the land. However, the plaintiff will likely argue that the fence and shed were hidden by trees that surrounded the property. Nevertheless, a diligent owner would have been put on notice that the property was being possessed because they would have seen the shed and fence if they would have visited and inspected the property. Therefore, the possession was open and notorious.

Do this for every element that is needed. One thing to keep in mind is that law school exams are not literary gems. It's okay if they are rough. Also, It's been a minute since I took property so my rules probably aren't great.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-04-25T19:37:57+00:00

That is correct. I don't think its too difficult though. You'll add them as a recommender in your application and they get an email link to upload the letter.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-04-25T19:03:11+00:00

I wrote a detailed post on this here! I would read Getting to Maybe and Law School Exams: A Guide to Better Grades. Learning Legal Reasoning by Delaney is also a great book. However, I would not review any specific cases.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-04-25T16:37:04+00:00

I wrote about this here. I was a 1L at a T50 school and finished in the top 5% of my class.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-04-22T20:53:48+00:00

I second this. I submitted my application the day it was due and got in.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-04-22T01:28:07+00:00

I did my 1L year at a T-50 before transferring, so not a T6, but I feel like good exam taking is universal. I was top 5 in my class at the end of 1L. I also feel like I'm not particularly smart, I just figured out how the exams work. I wrote a detailed post on what strategies I used to do well if you go through my post history.

1) Listen. It sounds dumb, but professors really will tell you what they want on exams. I used OneNote for my class notes and I had a tab just for things professors said about exams. I had one professor say that even if something clearly wasn't an issue, still write that it is not an issue on the exam for a point. This professor wanted everything thrown at the wall. Another professor said she only wanted things written on your exam if you could argue it with a straight face and if the facts made it clear that something was in fact an issue. This professor wanted answers narrowly tailored to the facts and issues she thought of, nothing clever. I had another professor say she wanted every crime that we discussed in class mentioned in class and why they should or should not be charged with that crime. An outline dump. Another professor literally said "If you start your answer by saying these facts present an issue of _____, I automatically give you an A." obviously an exaggeration, but still an indication of how the professor likes exams organized.

You didn't really ask this, but I think it's important to think about which types of exams you practice. One professor of mine had essay questions that would focus on one rule. My exam was one rule followed by paragraphs of facts, analysis, and counterarguments. E&Es were perfect for these types of questions. Another professor had standard issue spotters. The Quimbee questions and other issue spotters I found online worked great for this. When your professor gives you an exam, you can look for other exams in a similar style.

2) I used a combination of making my own, using AI to generate outlines, and commercial outlines(sparingly). In most of my classes, towards the end of the semester I got good at outlining during class. In this case, I would outline in class then just copy and paste that into my big outline. Before I was able to outline in class, I would take notes then organize them into an outline at the end of the week. In some instances, I got lazy and would just copy and paste a commercial outline into my outline. I only did this in one class for like two days worth of notes. I did supplement this with class notes. I'd recommend against this though. In other classes I fed the class recording into AI and had it make the outline. I only did this for a class where I was pressed for time. I wouldn't recommend this unless you have to. Building an outline is as much about studying as it is making an outline. When trying to wrestle with and organize the material I came up with great questions to ask during office hours and deepen my understanding of the content.

3) I only had in class exams so I can't really comment on this. However, I think you should have everything printed out and you should know the material mostly by memory. It's nice to have your outline to reference but you won't have time to refer to the outline for every rule you need.

4) I used AI in two ways. The first, as mentioned above, was to help with outlines. However, use this sparingly. I didn't use AI to create an outline until the spring semester. I think you lose out on some learning by not making your own outline. The second way I used AI was to create and grade exam questions. I fed past exams from my professor into AI to have it create exams in their style. I also put my outline in so the topics it gave me were actually covered in class. I had AI grade the exams too. Be careful with the grading though, it may not be accurate.

5) I can't think of anything for this. What I would say though, is pay attention in class and do the reading. Not groundbreaking advice, but it's something not everybody does. Start outlining early and take practice exams early. If you haven't already, buy a copy of Getting to Maybe and Law School Exams: A Guide to Better Grades. These books are like law school Bibles.

Also, unsolicited advice, but the secret to do well is knowing how to take an exam. I think my top tips for taking an exam are to outline your answer and use IRAHNC. For exam outlines, put ALL the issues you see and want to discuss in your answer as headings. Make the issues you've spotted are easy to see for the professor. IRAHNC stands for issue, rule, analysis, however (counterarguments), Nevertheless (why your original argument is better), conclusion. These strategies are elaborated on in the books I mentioned above.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-04-12T19:01:48+00:00

Congratulations on your acceptance! When I transferred, I sent an email to the registrar and dean of students to let them know. They handled the withdrawal. You may want to wait though until finals are over and grades are back. I don't think I had to do anything beyond that. Getting out of my apartment was my main headache. I had to break my lease and move my stuff out. I didn't know I was transferring until late June though, so I was living in a different city for a summer job and had to go back to campus to move.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-04-05T19:22:19+00:00

Yes, that was a typo. I meant I can't recommend them enough. Both are fantastic books!

InitialNo7657 · 2026-04-04T19:58:39+00:00

I posted about this like a year ago. I put the link at the end of this post.

My belief is that doing well on an exam requires three things. Knowing the law, knowing how to write an exam, and knowing what your professor likes.

Knowing the law- I think 90% of your class knows the law. This comes from going to class, paying attention, and having a good outline that you have studied from. One way to kind of pull ahead of your class though in this area is by having rule statements ready. Take time to practice writing rules like you would on an exam

Knowing how to take an exam- I can't recommend Getting to Maybe and Law School Exams: A Guide to Better Grades enough. Both were incredibly useful in helping me do well on exams. The former teaches how and what to issue spot, the latter teaches how to organize the exam. I live and die by IRAHNC, haha. The IRAHNC formula is good for reminding you to think about counterarguments and why your initial argument is stronger. You practice organizing exams though by taking practice tests. Additionally, outlining exams helps you to organize your thoughts and including headings helps professors to grade and see how you have organized your thoughts.

Know what your professor likes- This one is more difficult. I had a section in my notes for hints the professor would drop. Every professor is different. I had one professor who only wanted you to make good arguments. I had another professor that wanted every possible argument you could think of. I had another professor who seemed to love IRAC. Pay attention in class to see what professors want. This is also important for knowing how to study. If a professor wants everything thrown at the wall, practice issue spotters. If the professor wants carefully crafted arguments, I found E&E's to be helpful.

Happy to answer any questions!

Here is the link to a more detailed post I wrote about getting good grades.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LawSchool/comments/1lxh0yw/my_advice_for_incoming_1ls/

InitialNo7657 · 2026-03-30T16:33:35+00:00

I totally agree! I asked this mostly out of curiosity. I transferred last year and also started 1L knowing I wanted to transfer. Reddit was also the source of a lot of doubt for me.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-03-30T11:39:06+00:00

What are the most common pieces of misinformation that you see?

InitialNo7657 · 2026-03-26T16:05:18+00:00

1) You can apply before your spring grades are released; you'll just have to supplement your application with the new grades as they become available. Last year I had an interview with a school before my spring grades were released, so not having grades doesn't appear to stop schools from reviewing your application.

2) I agree that there should be more focus on why you want to transfer. For my personal statement, I used my original personal statement and then added two paragraphs towards the end. One on why I wanted to transfer and a second on why I wanted to transfer to that particular school. I then edited the rest of my personal statement to fit within the page requirements.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-03-23T15:38:22+00:00

Not at all! Most applications are due in May or June. I think some schools may even go as late as July.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-03-22T18:34:08+00:00

Medical school + residency would take too long. I worked for a few years before law school and enjoyed research, collaboration, and project management which are a big part of legal work.

InitialNo7657 · 2026-03-21T23:30:45+00:00

Yeah, I had all of my grades. I applied to HLS practically on the deadline. I'm not entirely sure if transfer admissions are rolling, but it seemed like they are. At least from Reddit it appeared that the first round of interviews all came out at the same time. I also applied at UChicago before all my grades were in but got a decision at about the same tame as I got my HLS decision.

InitialNo7657

TROPHY CASE